<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Other Choice by kiayea</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30035523">Other Choice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiayea/pseuds/kiayea'>kiayea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ficlets from Various Fandoms [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Hogwarts House Sorting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hogwarts First Year, Hogwarts House Sorting Ceremony, One Shot, Slytherin Harry Potter, The Sorting Hat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:41:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>551</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30035523</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiayea/pseuds/kiayea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry makes a different choice when he sits under the Sorting Hat.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter &amp; Sorting Hat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ficlets from Various Fandoms [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Other Choice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is what happens when I write before my first cup of coffee...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry sat down on the rickety old stool, valiantly trying to ignore the curious stares he got from the student populace. The students (and some of the teachers too) behaved like he was some kind of rare animal, coveting him and probably wishing for him to join their house. It was more than uncomfortable to be subject to such scrutiny. The female professor, he forgot the name of, put the ratty hat on his head that would decide his path in Hogwarts. </p><p><em>Such a mature mind. </em>The Sorting Hat mused as he glanced at his memories, before delving deeper into the complex workings of the young Potter’s mind. <em>A consequence of letting you live with muggles, I guess. And what's that? You naughty little snake. Albus won’t like you’ve left your muggle aunt. He had a plan, you know…</em></p><p><em>Not Slytherin. </em>Harry scowled. He hated playing to the other people’s expectations but the house reputed for churning out the dark wizards wouldn’t help him any. While he was at a disadvantage when well-meaning but a bit obtuse Hagrid first introduced him to the magical world, he corrected what he thought was a glaring oversight and educated himself as much as the time constraints allowed him. </p><p>The gob… dwarrow were a great help. Thank Merlin for them and their greedy little hearts. They were giddy, for the lack of a better word, when it turned out he was able to claim the headship of the long-thought extinct Peverell family. And they gladly put him in touch with Lord Black, his nearest living relative that wasn’t in the league with the insane monster that made him an orphan. </p><p><em>But Slytherin can help you achieve greatness. </em>The Hat insisted, as soon as it stumbled upon his dealings with the wizarding world’s bankers. <em>I see…</em> <em>It’s all in your head. </em></p><p>That word again. Greatness. It sent a pang of something in his chest, Harry recognized as longing. It would be nice to be known for something more than a survivor of a family annihilation by a half-arsed dark wizard. Not that he had anything against the dark magic. It would be hypocritical, considering he descended from the most famous necromancers in the history of Britain. </p><p>Harry wavered. While it was true the house of snakes perhaps wouldn’t be the best of choice for him in the current political climate... But if living with his relatives in the mundane world taught him anything, it was to twist the perceptions to his advantage. The trait that was honed by living with Lord Black during the summer. And he was kind of fond of the vicious old wizard, a proud Slytherin, who took him in and saw to his thorough education by judicious use of a Time-Turner. </p><p>The Hat smirked, sensing the child to change his mind. It was very satisfying to throw a wrench in Albus’s plans. <em>Give them hell, young… SLYTHERIN.</em></p><p>The grave silence enveloped the Great Hall at the Hat’s proclamations. Harry’s robes turned green, as he stood up from the stool and put the hat back in the professor’s trembling hands. He walked down and the hesitant clapping started from the Slytherin table. </p><p><em>Let the games begin.</em> Harry thought as he plastered a vicious smile on his face, aiming it at his future housemates. </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>